Guinness record holder dies tragically while repeating stunt

Apr. 29, 2013
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People watch as Sailendra Nath Roy attempts to cross the Teesta River suspended from a zip wire attached to his ponytail moments before his death in Siliguri, West Bengal state, India, on April 28. / AP

by Kate Seamons, Newser

by Kate Seamons, Newser

An Indian daredevil who made it into the Guinness Book of World Records died Sunday while repeating a version of his stunt, reports the BBC. Sailendra Nath Roy entered the record books in 2011 after traveling the farthest recorded distance on a zip line ... using his hair.

He attempted to cross the Teesta River via ponytail and zip line once again, in front of hundreds of onlookers in West Bengal. But Roy became stuck just shy of halfway through the 600-foot journey, reports India Today, after his hair got stuck in the line's wheeler; within 45 minutes he was dead.

Though Roy wore a life jacket, he apparently didn't arrange for emergency aid.

"He was desperately trying to move forward. He was trying to scream out some instruction. But no one could follow what he was saying," said a photographer at the scene.

In fact, India Today reports that spectators, unaware of what was happening, continued to clap as he struggled. He eventually lost consciousness and died of a massive heart attack, according to doctors. Rescuers were able to remove him from the line after about 45 minutes. A sad coda: A friend tells the BBC that Roy had told his wife, who was worried for his safety, this would be his last stunt. In 2008, he pulled the nearly 39-ton Darjeeling toy train using his ponytail.

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